Chapter 028: Choosing a Mentor

When Lin Luyou returned to the dormitory, Jiang Xiaohan had already finished her evening routine. She was lounging on her bed, a face mask on, engrossed in a drama.

"You're back? You sure came in late tonight."

"Don’t mention it, I’m absolutely exhausted!" Lin Luyou sighed. She had barely changed her shoes before she collapsed bonelessly onto the edge of Jiang Xiaohan’s bed, hoping to snuggle up and pour out her woes.

But before she could succeed, Jiang Xiaohan mercilessly pushed her away. "Hey, hey, don’t lean on me!"

Propping herself up and scooting back, Lin Luyou belatedly realized she’d made a grave mistake by not replying to Jiang Xiaohan's messages for the sake of convenience. After four years of friendship, Lin Luyou knew her temperament inside out.

What to do when Jiang Xiaohan was angry? Don’t reason with her! Don’t try to coax her! The best solution: furrow your brows, pout, act cute and pitiful—it was guaranteed to work in a heartbeat.

So without hesitation, Lin Luyou put on her best pitiful face and began to recount, with much emotion, how she’d been inexplicably roped into another group as a grunt that afternoon.

"…So you see, my dear Princess Hanhan, my Queen Hanhan, I really didn’t ignore your messages on purpose! Look, look—my eyes are still bloodshot!"

"I stared at a screen all afternoon, I can’t even recognize a single word now…"

"Your dry eyes, you deserve it!" Jiang Xiaohan retorted in her usual tone, though her attitude had obviously softened. "I told you to keep eyedrops handy just in case, but you never listen!"

She had a sharp tongue but a soft heart—Jiang Xiaohan to a tee. Though she acted annoyed, she still got up, rummaged through the cupboard, and tossed a box of eyedrops to Lin Luyou. "Here, I have an unopened bottle."

Grinning, Lin Luyou tucked her friend’s care into her pocket and quickly seized the opportunity. "Actually, I saw your messages on my way home tonight… but I thought, wouldn’t it show more sincerity if I told you in person?"

"And where’s your sincerity?"

Her usual tricks didn’t seem to be working as well this time. Luckily, Lin Luyou’s mind was still sharp. She spread her hands, palms meeting beneath her chin.

Her greatest sincerity, of course, was being her adorable little self!

"Honestly, thank you so much for helping me secure a spot on Professor Wen’s team this afternoon! I really, really love you—here, I offer you my knees in gratitude!"

As she spoke, she made a grand gesture of prostrating herself before Jiang Xiaohan.

With a sly glint in her eyes, Jiang Xiaohan slapped her hands away. "Alright, alright—two dinners, that’s the price!"

＊＊＊

One after another, professors from each department had begun organizing their students to start working on their theses, and the finance department was no exception.

A University had two flagship majors: Psychology and Finance. Within the finance program, there was a "national treasure" of a professor—Professor Wen Chuan.

Though he was a cantankerous old man, he was also the first in the department to earn the title of professor, and his honors and awards were too numerous to count. In his classes, roasting students was the norm; leaving them speechless was commonplace. Still, his ability to explain complex concepts in simple terms was unparalleled. As a result, students in the finance department often joked that taking his class was both agony and delight.

At least half the students in finance hoped to have Wen Chuan as their thesis advisor. But as he grew older, he now accepted only twenty students a year.

Competing with over two hundred classmates for those spots, Jiang Xiaohan had managed to secure two places at once—it truly took no small effort.

A couple of dinners in exchange for that was more than fair.